fred8033

Cool ! About time too. This should be standard practice for all positions.

IMHO, this is the best ECOH. I've seen so so many poorly attended ECOHs that I like a ECOH that is an extension to a normal relaxed fun COH. Also ... my personal preference is ... every COH should be a pot luck. Food builds fellowship.

This happened to our family too with the 2010 National Jamboree. All the really cool keepsakes were sold out before the event and before we ever heard about an on-line store. It really upset me. It felt like the "in-crowd" knew how things worked and us first-time families were hosed by those waiting to gobble up more than their fair share. It set a bad tone before the event even started.

This came up periodically with my dad as he'd retell stories from his being a kid in the 1930s/40s. I had to research it. One reason is old pool filters would clog with all the lint. That was solved with the current cloth used with swim suits. Another reason is that many of the schools and organizations were all either all men or all women. Some co-ed schools split swimming schedules. It's still at the YMCA now that nude showers are expected. Usually, I use the private changing areas now to avoid the many scouts that are in the local YMCA. I doubt BSA is trying to clean hist

What !!! When did BSA ditch the aluminum trail cook pots/pans set? Wow ... I never noticed. It's like losing a long lost relative that you never really liked that much but that you were sure would live on forever. We use plastic totes. Each patrol has one assigned (or did). Each kit has a hard plastic covered packing instruction sheet. That sheet has lasted 10+ years now. Very rigid ... as long as no one uses it as a cutting board. ... We are down now to six cook kits and one bin of extra supplies. We had two more bins of spare parts but we recently "purged" junk from the tra

I like seeing "our scouts in the XXX patrol decided". IMHO, this is the key to success. The scouts in the patrol decided.

Don't be ashamed. Be proud. Each scout has his own journey. Own yours. ... From what I've read above, I'd be proud to have a scout like you in my troop and I'd be glad to support you in your advancement. If you want Eagle, go for it. ... BUT ... don't stress over Eagle. It's just a rank. The journey is much more important. Building friendships and memories. Having adventures. Learning new things. Also, you have time. My recommendation ... Talk with your scoutmaster or another adult. Get a scout leader on your side who will support your journey. Let them know you nee

One big challenge you may face is getting agreement on what bullying is. Too often resolving situations like these is hard because of differing perspectives and opinions. I'd work to build consensus and understanding. If you can't do that, all the rules and procedures won't help.

Glad to hear your family and fellow scouts made it through the storm. The pictures are very scary. The camp staff should receive kudos for keeping everyone safe.

Looks like one of the crafts our scoutcraft camp staff built over the years. Looks both fun and problematic.

Advisers ... There is a BSA concept of a unit commissioner, but then again you can't guarantee unit commissioners really know what they are talking about. IMHO, the best advice is to talk to as many scouters as possible. "The ideal" ...We often talk in "ideals" and much of our advice is such that "the ideal troop would ...". Units can absolutely still provide a great, meaningful program even if they aren't the Norman Rockwell troop. IMHO, are the scouts benefiting? Growing? Learning lessons? ... My first ideal is focus on program. Get the scouts out doing things and doing things t

I absolutely agree. A patrol that doesn't "hang" together ain't a patrol. A good patrol does things together. Sticks together as much as possible. Throw a football. Play magic cards on a picnic table. Go swimming. Compete at camp beach volleyball. ... Absolutely cook, tent and plan.

You are envisioning Lord of the Flies with zero guidance. No one said 100% stand back. A good troop program with a good scoutmaster provides subtle guidance toward developing strong patrols. I always thought one of the best ways to develop a strong patrol was overcoming obstacles such as wanting to eat. I remember a discussion from a long time ago about a troop that was merging or starting up. They had to recreate their patrols because of a major change. The question was how to organize the patrols. The best advice I heard was to count the total scouts. Divide by 8. Then,

I hugely agree. "Left to their own devices youth will naturally gravitate towards what we call the Patrol method." Patrol method is a natural inclination of the scouts ... and people. People tend to form groups that they associate in. That's a patrol. I also agree that the best thing to promote the patrol method is to get out of the hair of the scouts. Let scouts be scouts. Teach and guide, but let them be them.

Youth protection: I have never ever been comfortable with a 16 year old sharing a tent with an 11 year old. When my son joined the troop 15 years ago, the SM encouraged close-age tenting. SM used subtle hints to drive this. Almost always, it just occurs naturally. No extra work. No extra planning. No big discussions. It was just common sense and subtle guidance. ... Also, it was easier as we started with new-scout patrols and the patrol tented together. Then, those patrols tended to stay together. The exceptions tended to be near same age. Patrols: My experience leans more and

We keep all our troop members health forms in a quick access water-proof container. It's actually zero work for events and activities. I agree though. I can't imagine asking for paperwork like that for short-time volunteers.

Hmmm..... On the "don't need" side ... I would refer to Guide To Safe Scouting and specifically the sweet 16 of safety. https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/gss/sweet16/ It refers to "potentially strenuous activity" and does not mention health forms. I could see interpreting some Eagle projects as not needing. On the need side, Guide To Safe Scouting on page 84 talks about safety of service projects. Page 88 (still in the service project checklist) has check boxes for having the heal

Semantics of a different question. ... To answer the that question, you can skirt the issue with making it a charter org fundraiser. ... The challenge is I've never seen a charter org run a fundraiser for a unit. Usually, it's the exact same people that run unit fundraisers. And the same rules are applied for scout accounts and sharing the results. ... Heck, most charter orgs are just not involved at all. ... It also introduces other issues ... if it's a charter org fundraiser and the charter org donates the money to the unit, I think that makes it much more difficult to credit any spec

They absolutely have the power to say no. The have little power to enforce. Just be considerate. Support your council by selling popcorn and friends of scouting. Beyond that, I wouldn't ask about other fundraisers. Focus on making your unit provide the best scouting program. The rest is noise.

Guilty. I like their feel and often wear them even outside scouting. I always buy extra every time they are on sale. I'm very critical of the uniform, but the socks are a weakness.

When our pack or troop sold wreaths, we didn't ask permission. When other units sold candy or flowers, I doubt they asked permission. With that said, you need to provide at least some details (even if generic) to put context to the question.

I have luckily never encountered such a predator ... at least to my knowledge. But I have repeatedly seen adults who are trusting of other because of character or reputation and willing to ignore the taught rules. We need to help others follow the rules and to remind them of the rules. We need to not be embarrassed to call people out on the rules.

I absolutely disagree that adults need to lead the course. IMHO, one of the best teaching methods is having scouts work with scouts. Our troop hasn't done ISLT recently. But when we did ... SM coached the SPL (who ran the course). The coaching was not hours and hours. It was more to familize with the materials ... 15 minutes at a time. Over a few weeks. The night before the course, the SPL and SM (and another adult) prep'ed the training and the materials. The training itself was a combination of 10 to 15 minute segments of BSA produced VHS tapes specificall

Looking back, I may not have been as sensitive to the project and the scout. It is just that Eagle projects are a mixed bag.

Agreed. Misbehavior should be dealt with by SM / CC outside of BOR. Such misbehavior may prevent the BOR from starting.